


A Little Bit More

by frogy



Category: Shelter (2007)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-30
Updated: 2010-12-30
Packaged: 2017-10-14 06:12:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/146233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frogy/pseuds/frogy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the Shelter_Diner LJ comm holiday challenge.</p><p>Cody inspires Shaun to connect with Larry during the holidays.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Bit More

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you PJVilar for the most awesome beta. Any remaining mistakes are all mine. Thanks to PJVilar and Riadsala for reminding me their was a presidential election in 1996, even though that fact never made it into the fic

_"What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.  
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."  
-How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Dr. Seuss_

\---

Shaun is sprawled on the couch, feet kicked up on the coffee table, watching who Zach has sadly come to recognize as a Kardashian sister on the TV when he gets home from his Monday night class.

"What's wrong?" Zach asks, sitting down next to him.

"I spoke to my mom today. She wants us to come for Christmas," Shaun says, voice flat, barely sparing Zach half a glance before refocusing on the TV.

"Okay," Zach says casually.

"Really?" Shaun asks. "You don't want to see your dad? Or Jeannie?"

"Jeannie won't be in for Christmas," Zach says darkly. "And I'll go see my dad before or after. I want Cody to have the big tree, lots of presents, whole thing Christmas. After the year we've had, he deserves it."

The move to LA seemed to stretched Cody's resiliency past the breaking point. There were months of overtired tantrums because Cody refused to go to sleep in his own room, and half the time when he would go to sleep he'd wake up in the middle of the night screaming.

"I don't usually go to Christmas," Shaun says, tentatively. He doesn't want to say no to Zach (that's a general life policy), but that doesn't mean he suddenly wants to go this year.

"We don't have to go," Zach says.

But Zach was right. Cody should have the whole shebang. And Shaun may not like Larry, but his mom and stepdad have the money to throw a Christmas that he and Zach could never afford.

He remembers storming down the grand staircase and out of the house the last time he was home for Christmas as a senior in college, finally with an apartment (and boyfriend) he could go home to, instead of being stuck there because the dorms were closed. The tree stretched up to the second story of the foyer, in front of the staircase with tinsel-wrapped banisters. Over a decade in distance, Shaun can look back and see the lavish and sparkle to rival the happy end of any Disney movie, and not just the burn of tears he wasn't going to let fall in that house.

"No, we should go," Shaun concedes. "It will be fine."

\---

Shaun is re-thinking their decision to come when they're standing on the front porch of his mom and Larry's house. He's laden down with their suitcases and shopping bags filled with presents. Zach's holding a pie and a bottle of wine. He had insisted that they couldn't show up empty handed, but there's a limit to how much Zach can hold with Cody clinging to him, hiding behind his legs, glancing up wearily at the big house. Shaun thinks he's right to be weary.

Before he can say anything, like maybe there's still time to turn around and go home, the door swings open. It's Larry. He looks older than Shaun remembers, hair no longer black but a steady gray shot through with white. He's still tall, but it's no longer imposing when paired with his wrinkled smiling face.

"Hello," Larry says, offering his hand.

Shaun takes it, shaking his hand. "Hi Larry."

"Zach, right?" Larry says, moving to address Zach.

"Yes," Zach says, shaking Larry's hand. When they let go, Larry steps back to let them in. Shaun moves into the foyer, putting down the bags in his hands, looking around. The house hasn't lost any of its grandeur since he was last there.

"And who are you?" Larry asks, knees cracking as he drops to a crouch to address Cody.

Cody sticks his head out from behind Zach to peer at Larry, but he doesn't let go of Zach's legs, or answer. "This is Cody," Zach answers for him, ruffling Cody's hair. "Come on Cody, say hello to Larry," Zach says encouragingly, looking down at Cody. It's not new people that throws Cody, as much as it is new places, and maybe they should have thought of that before.

"Hi," Cody mumbles, before burying his head at Zach's hip.

Larry glances up a Zach and Shaun questioningly. "Sorry," Zach says, "he's just shy."

"No problem," Larry says, pushing himself upright again. "Gabe missed the earlier train, so your mom's out picking him up from the station now. She figured you guys could stay in the guest suite, and we can set Cody up in your old room."

Shaun looks at Zach. If Cody won't leave Zach's side, it's unlikely that he's going to sleep in another room. But Zach just shrugs at Shaun, before addressing Larry. "Thanks, that will be great."

"Here, I'll take that," Larry says, taking the pie and wine from Zach. "I'll put this in the kitchen. When you're settled, come on down and I'll give you a tour."

Shaun leads Zach and Cody upstairs down the hall to the right, into the guest suite. It's where he always stays when he comes home, although Larry couldn't know that. Shaun makes a point of only coming home when Larry's not there.

Shaun's not sure what he was expecting from seeing Larry again, but this polite stranger isn't it.

With just the two of them, Cody lets go of Zach's leg and looks around the room. Finally free to help, Zach takes the suitcases from Shaun and starts sorting them out. "We're staying here?" Cody asks, climbing up on the bed and looking out the window.

"Zach and I are, and you can if you want to. But," Shaun draws the word out enticingly, sitting down next to Cody, "we thought you would want to stay in a super special room." There's about a 50/50 chance Cody will take the bait.

It seems to work. "Where?" Cody asks, intrigued.

"My old room," Shaun tells him.

"Your old room?" Cody echoes.

"Yes, my room from when I was younger," Shaun explains.

"Like when you were my age?"

"No," Shaun says, remembering the tiny, two bedroom house they lived in when he was Cody's age. "It was my room when I was Christy's age," Shaun tells him, naming the girl from Zach's program who babysits for him sometimes.

"That's not young," Cody tells Shaun, like he's an idiot for even saying so. "That's old."

Zach snorts on the other side of the room, holding in a laugh. Shaun turns around to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "So, what do you think Zach, want to go see the room I lived in when I was old?"

"Sure," Zach chokes out, still trying not to laugh. "Lead the way."

\---

Shaun's old room is really embarrassing. It's not anything Cody would notice, too busy bouncing on the big bed that he gets to stay in. But Zach looks around with a smirk on his face.

Shaun really didn't remember the room being this, well, rainbow. He remembered the requisite flag, hanging over the bed. But the stickers and buttons on his bulletin board, or, oh god, the mouse pad. He is never going to live this down.

The last time he stayed in this room was the last Christmas he was home. Shaun doesn't even remember what he said to Larry while they were sitting around the too-big for four people table. He just remembers Larry explaining why Shaun was wrong, making him feel like a kid, like he didn't know anything. Shaun had been managing his own life just fine before Larry came along. He didn't need Larry treating him like some kid. Larry should have minded his own fucking business. Every time Larry butted into things he wasn't wanted in, it just reminded Shaun how much he wished Dad were still around. Dad would support him, instead of telling him he's wrong all the time and thinking he can fix Shaun's life for him.

He thought he was such an adult when he took down the surf posters and put up all the flags and posters and fliers for political rallies he was involved in. He had no idea how much growing up he had left to do at the time; how much anger he was still holding on to about his dad's death. Now that he knows what being an adult really is, the room is just a painful, ridiculous time capsule of him trying desperately to be a grown-up.

Looking around the room, Shaun has to say something, before stop Zach gets there first. But he doesn't need to worry about whatever joke is coming at his expense, because Larry interrupts, knocking on the frame of the open door.

All three of them turn at the knock. "So, who wants a tour of the house?" Larry asks, looking at Cody.

Cody stops bouncing, suddenly shy again now that Larry is back. Zach sighs, answering for Cody when it becomes clear he's not going to say anything. "We'd love a tour," he says, "come on Cody, let's go see what other cool things this house is hiding."

Cody and Shaun follow Larry through the house as he points out the bathrooms, and kitchen, and media room. Larry addresses himself to Zach, but directs all his statements towards Cody, hoping to draw him out.

In the back of the house, past the sliding doors to the deck, is Larry's office. Larry hesitates a second before opening the door, giving Shaun a look that he can't interpret. He looks back blankly, until Larry opens the door, and then he remembers.

The walls of Larry's office are lined with bugs. He's always had an entomology collection, butterflies and moths and exotic dragonflies pinned beneath glass. He has bookshelves lined with paperweights of ants caught in amber.

Cody forgets his shyness at the sight of them and runs over to the shelf, putting his hands on the edge, pressing his face right up to it, the row of amber trapped ants exactly his eye-height.

"Wow," Cody says looking at them.

"Do you like insects?" Larry asks him, crouching down to look at the insects with Cody.

"We put fake bugs in the dollhouse in school and Kelly with two moms found them and screamed and ran away and it was great," Cody tells Larry, all the enthusiasm of a kid talking about what he loves, still looking at the paperweight.

"Did you know all the ants in an ant hill are brothers and sisters?" Larry tells Cody.

"Really?" Cody asks, looking away from the bugs to finally look at Larry.

"Yes," Larry says taking one of the paperweights and handing it to Cody as he begins to explain how there's one queen who's the mom of all the ants. The door slams in the other room.

"That must be mom and Gabe," Shaun says to Zach.

"Hey Cody," Zach asks, interrupting the explanation Larry is giving him about ant families. "Uncle Gabe is here, we're gonna go say hello. Do you want to come?"

"I'm gonna stay here with the bugs," Cody says.

"Don't worry about it," Larry adds. "We'll be fine here with the insects."

"Okay," Zach says, tentatively, following Shaun down the fall to the foyer.

"I'm surprised at how quickly Cody opened up to Larry," Zach mentions once they're out of hearing distance of Larry's office.

"I know," Shaun says. "Larry is different than I remember."

Their discussion of the topic is cut short as they reach the entryway.

"Bro," Gabe shouts in hello, giving Shaun a backslapping hug, before moving on to an overly complicated "secret" handshake he and Zach worked out ages ago.

Whirlwind handshake-fist bump-hello over, Gabe looks around and asks "Where's my little man?"

"Cody's with Larry," Shaun says.

"Larry? Really?" Gabe says wrinkling his nose, making a disgusted face.

"They're looking at insects in his office," Zach adds.

"Oh, well, insects are awesome," Gabe concedes. "Now help me get my shit up to my room and we can rescue my favorite little dude," Gabe says. He takes a bag and charges up the stairs, assuming they'll follow.

\---

Cody is still sitting in Larry's office, enthralled by the explanation Larry is giving him about the moth behind glass in a frame that sits on the floor between them.

"Hey Cody," Gabe says, interrupting them.

"Uncle Gabe," Cody says jumping up to give him a hug. "Did you know that bees tell other bees where flowers are by dancing?" He takes Gabe's hand and pulls him down to where Larry's still sitting on the floor.

"Hi Gabe," Larry says.

"Hey," Gabe says. "So, bugs."

"Yeah," Larry says. "Cody, why don't we go into the living room where there's more space."

"Okay," Cody says, jumping up and barreling through where Shaun and Zach are standing in the doorway.

Gabe gets up quickly, and Larry follows more slowly, pushing himself up. He pauses to pick up the framed moth they were looking at, and moves to hang it back up on the wall. "You guys go ahead," he says. "I want to check with your mom about when she wants the turkey."

The three of them take Larry's advice and follow the sound of the TV into the family room.

"How'd Larry buy Cody's affection so quickly?"

"He didn't," Zach says. "Larry was just totally cool with him."

"Really?" Zach asks.

"Yeah," Shaun says. "And all the bugs help."

When they get to the family room, Cody's already figured out the remote for the huge flat screen hanging on the wall . He sits in the middle of the couch, dwarfed by pillows, watching Spongebob.

They sit down at the other end of the large L-shaped sectional, continuing their conversation quietly so as not to disturb Cody.

"I know you guys don't like him, but he seems totally fine," Zach says.

"I don't have a problem with him," Gabe says, hands up begging his innocence in the whole thing. He throws his money around, but whatever. I am okay with Larry buying my affections. I got one sweet car out of the deal." Zach pauses, "Shaun's the one that hates him."

"He shouldn't have butted in where he wasn't wanted," Shaun says glaring at Gabe.

Zach looks back and forth between Shaun and Gabe, trying to read the look between them. There's more that Shaun's not saying. "What happened with you and Larry?" he asks.

"Right after he and mom got married he pulled me out of San Pedro High and sent me to Prep, making decisions like he was dad or something," Shaun says reluctantly.

"You hated San Pedro," Gabe says rolling his eyes.

That's true. He did hate San Pedro. All the guys on the football team used to give him shit about being gay. He wasn't out then, but somehow they could tell. Or, maybe that would have been their taunt of choice for any nerdy kid they picked on and it was just dumb luck it was right about him.

He and his one friend from the literary magazine, Kerry, used to sneak off campus for lunch. Only the seniors were allowed out, but he couldn't bear to eat in the cafeteria so they'd duck out the back entrance and go to 7-Eleven. They'd been doing it all year. They didn't get caught until Larry was in the picture, looking to throw his weight around.

It took less than a week after the whole story came out for Larry to transfer him to Prep.

"That didn't mean I wanted to go to some private school where I didn't know anyone," Shaun defends himself. Mid-way through junior year everyone was already comfortably settled into their own groups of friends. No one wanted to be friends with the nerdy new kid. He spent a lot of time those last two years of high school surfing.

They drop the conversation after that, because Larry comes back, sitting down next to Cody when Cody beckons. Larry makes the mistake of admitting he's never seen Spongebob before, and they all listen to Cody explain how he's a sponge who lives in a pineapple and the starfish is his best friend Patrick.

Larry seems to be following along until they get to Sandy the squirrel. His baffled expression at a squirrel in a SCUBA suit is too much to take, and they all can't help but laugh at that.

\---

Spongebob segued into The Fairly Odd Parents, Larry left when mom called for him, and Gabe and Zach started playing the ‘did you hear?' game, catching up on all the gossip about people they knew back in high school. Shaun's mom is busy getting Christmas dinner ready. She came through earlier to say hello but the timer for something was beeping, and she had to rush back to the kitchen to check on it.

Shaun leaves Zach and Gabe engaged in their conversation, and Cody entertained by the TV, to go look for her. Instead, he finds Larry carving the turkey.

"That's a cool knife," Shaun says, pitching his voice to be heard above the grinding noise of the electric knife Larry is using.

Larry stops finishes carving the slice and turns the knife off before responding.

"Thanks," he says. "Gabe got it for me for Fathers Day."

At one point, Shaun would have heard an accusation in Larry's statement. But it would have been entirely in his head. Larry's statement as nothing more than a declaration of fact.

So he asks, "Can I try it?"

"Sure," Larry says, handing it over as Shaun walks around the kitchen island so he's on the right side to carve a piece of turkey. He turns the knife on and it cuts right through the turkey like it's butter.

Shaun turns the knife off and hands it back over to Larry. "That's incredible. I need to get one of those."

"Yeah, it's great," Larry agrees.

Shaun walks back to the other side of the counter and sits down on one of the barstools, as Larry begins carving again.

"You were good with Cody," Shaun says, making conversation.

His surprise must come through, because Larry says, "I did have a hand in raising two boys," with a wry grin on his face.

It takes Shaun a second to realize that Larry's talking about him and Gabe. "We were older than that."

"You were," Larry says, "Gabe wasn't that much older than Cody when I married your mom."

Shaun thinks about it and realizes that Larry's right; if he was sixteen, Gabe must have been six. "Still," he says, "Cody isn't usually good with strangers. He had a hard time with Jeanne leaving and everything."

"I can imagine," Larry says. "But he'll get over it. Cody's a good kid, and he obviously loves you guys."

"Thanks," Shaun chokes out, stunned. Out of all the things that could possibly happen tonight, Larry expressing any type of approval or support of Shaun's family didn't even cross Shaun's mind long enough to be deemed impossible. The most he thought he could hope for was polite avoidance.

"When's his birthday?" Larry asks, either not noticing Shaun's confusion or purposely avoiding it. "Your mom picked out Christmas presents for Cody, but if it's okay with you guys, I bet he'd love an ant farm."

"Yeah, he probably would," Shaun says, still kind of baffled. Then, he answers "It's in March," and "I'll check with Zach."

"Of course," Larry says. "They're really easy; they're self contained and the ants pretty much run themselves. You just have to put a few drops of water and food in a couple times a week."

"Okay," Shaun says, for lack of anything more to add to the conversation. He's turning over ways to ask ‘what happened to you to make you a decent person?,' but isn't coming up with a nice way to ask that. And, that's not something you can really just say.

"Or maybe we can come by to visit sometime and get him one just because," Larry adds tentatively. Shaun's never heard Larry be tentative about anything. "It would mean a lot to your mom if we could be a family again."

The ball is in Shaun's court. And as he blindly watches Larry carve the turkey, he realizes it always has been. It's easier to see when Larry's offering something for Cody than forcing something on Shaun. Larry's not offering to buy Cody an ant farm to purchase his way into Shaun's family or because he thinks they can't do it themselves or that it will make Cody like him more than he already does. He just thinks it will make Cody happy. Shaun can understand that. There's nothing Shaun wouldn't give Zach or Cody if he had the means to.

Larry has plenty of money. He wants to spend it on the people he cares about anyway.

Looking up from the turkey, Shaun smiles at Larry and says "I think that would be nice."

\---

Later that night, after Cody goes to bed surprisingly easily because "I have to go to sleep so Santa can come," Zach, Shaun and Gabe sit out on the deck getting drunk on eggnog.

There's a lull in their conversation, and Shaun idly wishes Gabe would go away so he and Zach could make the most out of the porch futon they're sitting on. They never did get to do more than kiss and sleep on it the first time they were here. Instead, Gabe breaks the silence and says "Congrats on not ruining Christmas."

"What?" Shaun asks, distractedly. Gabe was heavy-handed with the brandy in the eggnog and Zach is listing towards Shaun. Shaun wraps his arm around Zach's waist, and Zach settles against his side, head resting on his shoulder.

"Last time you came to Christmas you and Larry screamed at each other and you stormed out and then Mom and Larry shouted at each other and didn't talk to each other for the rest of the holiday," Gabe says. "I spent the whole time playing my new N64 by myself."

"Sorry," Shaun says. He knew his last Christmas home was awful for him. It never occurred to him that he was ruining anyone else's Christmas.

"So what? You're finally done hating Larry?" Gabe asks.

"Yeah." Shaun looks at Zach, who twists around to look back at him. "He wants to buy Cody an ant farm."

"What?" Zach asks, picking his head up.

"He asked if he and Mom can come over some time," Shaun says, questioningly.

"And you said yes?" Zach says, voice guarded.

"Yes, Larry's not as bad as I thought," Shaun answers.

"You know you're supposed to wait until tomorrow to give me my present," Zach says, breaking out into a smile, shifting around again so that he's sitting sideways on the bench. Zach slings his right leg out over Shaun's knees, his left leg bent so the outside of his calf is pressed against Shaun's thigh.

"What?" Shaun can't help but grin back, resting his hands on Zach's leg, even though he doesn't know what Zach's talking about. He grabs at any opportunity to make Zach smile like that.

"You know, the big happy family," Zach says.

"That's not your present," Shaun says, tapping his fingers a random pattern up Zach's calf.

"You have something else for me?" Zach asks coyly. Zach's leaning in again, eyes bright and face flushed from the alcohol.

"Why don't you come over here and find out," Shaun says, voice low and private, ducking in towards Zach. His hands crest the peak of Zach's knee and slide along Zach's thigh.

"Okay," Gabe interrupts. Shaun and Zach look up startled, pulling back an automatic reaction at being interrupted. They forgot he was there. "I'm officially done with you lovebirds. I don't need to see this shit," he finishes good-naturedly. He swigs down the rest of his eggnog and gets up.

"Bye," Zach says, waving at his friend.

"Don't look out the window," Shaun adds, pulling Zach back in. Zach goes easily, moving so he's straddling Shaun's lap, still waving behind him until the door slams, signaling that Gabe is gone.

"So now," Zach says low and teasing, "about that other present?"


End file.
